Have your Chipotle burrito at
John Dos Passos' house. Read
Silent Spring in
Silver Spring. You can now take a real or virtual walking tour of literary DC, from
Roald Dahl to
Philip K. Dick to
Zora Neale Hurston with
DCWriters.org. Two DC-area poets have put together a compendium of 123 (and growing) residences in the DC area where novelists, poets, and playwrights plied their trade. The buildings may not all have plaques, but they are still standing: Dan Vera and Kim Roberts
focused on not "documenting what used to be here, but what people could actually go and take a look at."
posted by HonoriaGlossop
on Dec 18, 2011 -
18 comments
Feeling like you need something to balance the scent of sandalwood and musk after reading this list of
famous man caves (including Jefferson's study, Douglass' office, Edison's library, and Roosevelt's trophy room)? If so, you may be interested in seeing the inner sanctums of some of history's most influential women. Check out Eleanor Roosevelt's living room (
picture/
info), Marie Curie's laboratory (
picture/
info), Margaret Mead's room in Samoa (
picture/
info), Maya Angelou's parlor (
picture/
info), Susan B. Anthony's
study and
bedroom (
more pictures and info), Georgia O'Keefe's sitting room (
picture,
info), Helen Keller's childhood bedroom (
picture,
info), and Frida Kahlo's studio (
picture 1,
picture 2/
info).
[more inside]
posted by emilyd22222
on Jul 28, 2010 -
23 comments
The immodestly named Versailles
1 in Florida is possibly the largest home in America. At 90,000 sqft it is nearly twice the size of the White House and includes 23 bathrooms, a 10 car garage and 10 Segways to get around. The WSJ reports on
Touring the (Almost) Largest Home in America. Of course the owners ran out of money and now the hulking shell of Versailles, sitting precariously for the ages a few feet above sea level, is
for sale (click through for virtual tour).
posted by stbalbach
on Jul 16, 2010 -
76 comments
With the economic downturn and
a steady downward trend in family sizes,
the end of the McMansion could be at hand. Some people are
living in and
building tiny houses (
previously) to decrease their impact on the environment, while others can't afford more (or wish to own something small instead of paying off something big).
Sergio Santos saw his
small budget and limited space as a challenge (
gallery), maximizing his 77 square foot space as a bedroom, office, and mini-kitchen.
Claire Wolf lists the four pieces of living small: building, gadgeting, decorating, and coping. If these spaces are too small for you,
Dan Maginn suggest 900 square feet for a 2 bed, 2 bath house, and
outlines how to design your own small home (his tips: think "events" more than "rooms," and don't forget the cupboards and water heater closet).
posted by filthy light thief
on Sep 1, 2009 -
95 comments
"The brief was simple: to
build a house to retire to in order to grow food, entertain and enjoy the East Anglia landscape. The outcome was as unconventional as they come. A structure that has the ability to vary or connect the overall building's composition and character according to season, weather or simply a desire to delight.
Wallpaper* took a trip to the site to capture the physical phenomenon in the only medium that serves it justice - film."
via
posted by Knappster
on Mar 2, 2009 -
15 comments
"Future House Now is dedicated to exploring ideas about better living in family homes that are affordable, modern, efficient, healthy, environmentally responsible and available today."
posted by dobbs
on Jun 4, 2007 -
8 comments
The most modern home built in the world. "From the outside it looks
like a spaceship you cannot enter. But if you go inside, it feels very cozy… very Zen and calming. Maybe because you are
floating above the city, in the sky".
John Lautner's
Chemosphere residence is the product of a
fortuitous union of architect, client, time and place.
Leonard Malin was a young aerospace engineer in late-1950s L.A. whose father-in-law had just given him a plot north of Mulholland Drive, near Laurel Canyon. The only catch: at roughly 45 degrees, the slope was all but unbuildable. Lautner sketched a bold vertical line, a cross, and a curve above it. "Draw it up," he told his assistant.
Now publisher
Benedikt Taschen owns Chemosphere (NSFW), and after 20 years of neglect the house has been beautifully
restored (.pdf) by
Frank Escher.
posted by matteo
on Apr 7, 2005 -
24 comments
The Great American 'Garage Mahal' - cars, houses and garages of the American super-sized new affluent class grow ever larger :
"three separate two-car garages attached to his $750,000 brick abode: one for his son Brandon, one for his wife, Janice, and one for him. His garages' many amenities include carpeting, cable TV, speakers wired to the home stereo system and a bathroom. "I've always liked garages and I don't think you can have enough of them," " Mr. Bernard said."
posted by troutfishing
on Jul 21, 2004 -
25 comments
Small house, big ambitions. I've always lived in small houses and flats so this would be the perfect little place for me. As people are progressively continuing to stay single for longer into their lives, are homes like these what they'd be looking for to settle into?
posted by feelinglistless
on Sep 28, 2002 -
23 comments
Rich Man's Castle - A
Guardian piece which suggests the introduction of land-zoning to ensure that all the prime pieces of land aren't snapped up for luxury,
new build homes and are instead designated for affordable housing. With UK house prices on an
ever-upward trajectory, it's unlikely that developers would embrace such a move. At least, not when there are
masterpieces to
construct.
posted by jonathanbell
on May 9, 2002 -
5 comments
Coca-Cola on tap at home? New recipies that include "2 cups of Coca-Cola"? Taking this a step further makes it interesting, with all manner of juices being available on-call.
posted by pnevares
on Mar 19, 2001 -
36 comments
This house which I heard about from
captain cursor looks normal on the outside, but make sure you check out the
basement! It made me think of the
barn house that I once visited while growing up in Indiana. Though very different, they both are products of magnficent obscessions--as is the famous
Winchester Mystery House. It seems many people like to build and live in strange homes. Of course, there are people who are obscessed with
other things.
posted by grumblebee
on May 16, 2000 -
2 comments
